Official Canada 150 tulip planted in Commissioners Park

The Canada 150 tulip has a striking resemblance to the Canadian flag (NCC photo)

(press release)

The Canada 150tulip, the official tulip of Canada’s 150th anniversary, was planted today in Commissioners Park. Just in time for the 2017 celebrations next spring, more than 300,000 Canada 150 tulips will bloom across the Capital Region, and thousands more will bloom in community gardens from coast to coast to coast.

The Canada 150 tulip’s elegant white bloom with red flames bears a striking resemblance to our maple leaf flag. The National Capital Commission has partnered with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Home Hardware, exclusive retailer of this special tulip bulb, and Communities in Bloom for the selection and distribution of the Canada 150 tulip.

·The Canada 150 tulip was unveiled last spring. More than 200,000 of them filled NCC flower beds across the Capital Region.

·Canada 150 tulip bulbs are available at participating Home Hardware stores nationwide so that Canadians can enjoy their beauty as part of the Canada 150 celebrations next spring.

·As the official gardener of Canada’s Capital, the NCC is responsible for designing and planting close to one million tulips of 100 varieties, in 100 flower beds, which brighten the region in springtime.

·The most spectacular display of tulips is in Commissioners Park by Dows Lake, where 250,000 tulips of 60 different varieties bloom in the park’s 30 flower beds.

·The first tulip beds in the Capital were planted in 1945, when the Netherlands sent 100,000 tulip bulbs as a postwar gift of gratitude for the role that Canadian soldiers had played in the liberation of the Netherlands.

Quotes

“It’s an honour to plant the official Canada 150 tulip on behalf of the Government of Canada. With today’s ceremonial planting, this powerful symbol of peace, rebirth and springtime is going to spread throughout the Capital and throughout the land for Canada’s 150th birthday.”

—The Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, on behalf of the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage

“For more than 70 years, the Capital’s tulip legacy has been a symbol of the deep and abiding friendship between the Canadian and Dutch peoples. These distinctive red and white blooms represent so much more than the maple leaf flag—they represent a century and a half of shared hopes, dreams and accomplishments.”

—His Excellency Henk van der Zwan,Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

“I encourage all Canadians to join in the spirit of celebration and plant Canada 150 tulip bulbs in their gardens. The NCC is proud to collaborate with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Home Hardware and Communities in Bloom to bring these spectacular tulips to the Capital Region and communities across Canada.”

“As the exclusive retailer of Canada 150 tulip bulbs, and through our partnership with the NCC, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Communities in Bloom, we are thrilled to offer these unique bulbs just in time for gardeners across the country to get them in the ground in preparation for next spring’s anniversary celebrations.”